Tips for the High Shield and Exchanges

[RichardN7]

Hello all,

Finally started sparring again (kickboxing).
I’ve always had a good boxing base. I tend to jab a lot, keep my distance, avoid brawls and pot-shot with crosses and cross-counters.

Lately though, I’ve been trying to focus more on pressuring as opposed to running around the ring and countering. I want to cover this hole in my striking. Namely, I want to learn to use the high shield defense we see guys like Nieky Holzken, RvR and Joe Valtellini utilize, and stay in the pocket and exhange.
During harder sparring, I find I can’t absorb most shots with the high guard. They always seem to find a way around the gloves.

 

[Silver tongue samurai]

Our styles sound pretty similar. Whaf i find is feinting before i enter and exploding in as opposed to wading in help me get close. As for staying and being successful in the pocket catch and return counters, headmovment and angles (in my experience) are the name of the game. Dont just hold up your gloves and take shots, its a bad habit to get into and there are smarter ways to pressure (eg. Till, Bergos, zambidis, tj).

My jab is one of my best weapons so i use it a lot to disrupt rhytm in the pocket as well ass doubbling up (cross,touch with the cross,lead hook). Just because you are pressuring and in the pocket doesn't mean you have to take shots. My game is usually pressuring from the edge of range (jabs,low kicks, counter crosses) and driving my partner towards a wall. From there they move left or right (or cover up and get unloaded on) so its easier to pressure on the wall as well as counter since only you can move back at least this what iv found with my experiences

 

[RichardN7]

Our styles sound pretty similar. Whaf i find is feinting before i enter and exploding in as opposed to wading in help me get close. As for staying and being successful in the pocket catch and return counters, headmovment and angles (in my experience) are the name of the game. Dont just hold up your gloves and take shots, its a bad habit to get into and there are smarter ways to pressure (eg. Till, Bergos, zambidis, tj).

My jab is one of my best weapons so i use it a lot to disrupt rhytm in the pocket as well ass doubbling up (cross,touch with the cross,lead hook). Just because you are pressuring and in the pocket doesn't mean you have to take shots. My game is usually pressuring from the edge of range (jabs,low kicks, counter crosses) and driving my partner towards a wall. From there they move left or right (or cover up and get unloaded on) so its easier to pressure on the wall as well as counter since only you can move back at least this what iv found with my experiences

Good points, especially the simple bit about not forgetting angles and jabs when in the pocket. Looking forward to trying it out.

 

[j123]

Around the glove... sounds like your guard is more forward and not in all around., the high guard should be in a placement between front and side, almost like a 45. When straights come, you sort of tighten it slightly. With the big gloves, shots still shouldn't be coming through.

Also, if sounds like you might be shelling up longer than you should. If he's throwing 1,2,3,2, and you eat the 3 or the last 2, it's a bit long. High guard relies heavily on the fact you need to be countering ASAP.

The whole idea behind the pressure style is you are like a steam roller, the guard comes up to defend your stuff, and you break them by countering back, and continue walking forward then they step back. If you shell up for longer than 3 strikes or even move back then its defeated its purpose.

If you find as you block you're losing your ground, change your stance to be forward heavy on the lead leg. Look at yourself like a tank, and your opponent/partner a regular person with a peashooter. Then keep going forward and ring cut. High guard pressure style without ring cutting is a bit counter productive. Walk them down, then just bang

 

[eternaldarkness]

i can't really speak for kickboxing, but in boxing this "high guard" you speak of is very misunderstood. i call what your doing the superglue the hands to the face routine. it is not a proper "high guard" at all. even with a proper high guard you have to adjust your guard to the punches coming at you. there is no one guard blocks all. they just punch through or around that shit. the most important aspect of blocking in boxing is to get slightly off the line of attack. this means if they throw the right i take a small step to the right and block with the left at the same time. also you what to create an angle with your block so the punch has more chance of deflecting. be careful of using too much angle as this exposes the ribs. block correctly and you are actually loading up your punches as you do it.

 

[eternaldarkness]

sorry if i sounded critical. i wasn't having a go at you personally, it's just always been a pet hate of mine, because for a lot of years they used to say you can't block like a boxer in mma (superglue hands to face) when that isn't blocking like a boxer at all. as soon as someone goes the old superglue guard in boxing you know their fucked.

 

[eternaldarkness]

being an aggressive fighter is all about bridging the gab without taking too much punishment. in boxing that's slipping or catching the jab. it is more difficult in kickboxing where rolling under the punches becomes dangerous. otherwise i would say duck and come up bombing. in kickboxing it's more about getting past the teep and leg kicks. i'm not really versed at it, but catching kicks seems like a great way to bridge the gap. buakaw was particularly dangerous with the left hook off the caught right round kick, and would be a good fighter to watch.

 

[Silver tongue samurai]

being an aggressive fighter is all about bridging the gab without taking too much punishment. in boxing that's slipping or catching the jab. it is more difficult in kickboxing where rolling under the punches becomes dangerous. otherwise i would say duck and come up bombing. in kickboxing it's more about getting past the teep and leg kicks. i'm not really versed at it, but catching kicks seems like a great way to bridge the gap. buakaw was particularly dangerous with the left hook off the caught right round kick, and would be a good fighter to watch.

This is supper important. Burgos is usually a successful agressive counterfighter but without being able to enter Katters range without taking damage his whole plan fell apart.

Talking from personal experience. Not being able to enter range is just as demoralizing as being in range and not being able to hit and can lead to a down hill showing if the fighter gets in their own head

 

[Kickzilla]

 

[Silver tongue samurai]

the entire channel has some good shit

 

[Kickzilla]

To add to the video I linked, just some suggestions.

Stance: When holding your ground with this approach make sure your rear leg's knee is more bent. You want to be rooted in order to counter more effectively while in the pocket. Also prevents you from literally being pushed around and knocked off balance.

Counters: Commit to muscle memory some simple counter combinations off of both hands while using the shield. Keep it simple at first, something like 1) lead hook, cross, lead hook and 2) cross, lead hook, cross. It being kickboxing, spam the shit out of leg kicks, after they attack, during their attack, just before they attack, being in the shell and rooted is a good opportunity to time leg kicks and punish hard with them. Once you get confident with that you can start veering off of it and adding counters opportunistically, one or two shots, adding kicks and knees to the end of your punches, adding body shots (these are way more viable and obvious in the pocket so getting creative and aggressive with your body punching is a huge advantage when inside).

Footwork and parries/catches: Don't get predictable with it, you claim to know how to work your range so don't suddenly forget how to do that. Footwork is your primary form of defense and in positioning you to deliver your artillery, always. That never changes. Every other type of defense is secondary and supportive. Even while holding your guard up realize that you can still catch and parry. Become aware of how to go in and out of high guard, using your feet to pivot and move, and catching and parrying shots. Where's the shield most effective? Mid and close range. Doesn't mean you can't slip or parry in mid range, doesn't mean you can't clinch/turn your guy in close range, or bob and weave to the inside, or pivot. The end goal is to make it all flow together and then all the potential weaknesses of any defensive technique cover for each other and create a defensive system you can pull from.

Last point: Get your guard up when your opponent is attacking and teep. In Muay Thai it is a bread and better defensive move and works amazingly and not enough guys use it.